Trump steps up Iran warnings
Tehran’s top diplomat says Washington’s credibility is at stake
US President Donald Trump and Iran’s top diplomat have traded sharp warnings, with Trump threatening “bigger problems” than ever if Tehran restarts its nuclear programme and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif putting the President on notice.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Associated Press, Zarif said if the United States pulls out of the nuclear deal, Iran was also likely to abandon it.
Zarif said a US withdrawal from the landmark 2015 accord would undermine Trump’s talks with North Korea by proving that US reneges on its promises. He said if Trump reimposes sanctions, “basically killing the deal”, Iran would no longer be bound by the pact’s international obligations, freeing it up to resume enrichment far beyond the deal’s strict limits.
“If the United States were to withdraw from the nuclear deal, the immediate consequence in all likelihood would be that Iran would reciprocate and withdraw,” Zarif said. “There won’t be any deal for Iran to stay in.”
As Zarif spoke in New York, Trump was meeting at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been leading an effort by France, Britain and Germany to find “fixes” to the deal that would satisfy Trump’s objections. Few expect such a solution can be found by May 12, the date on which Trump has said he’ll leave the deal if there’s no fix agreed to with the Europeans.
“No one knows what I’m going to do on the 12th, although Mr President, you have a pretty good idea,” Trump said, referring to Macron. He said if he does withdraw, he would look to see “if it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations, because this is a deal with decayed foundations”.
The French believe progress had been made.
“What was important and new this morning was that President Trump was OK with putting on the table, with France, the idea of a new agreement that should be proposed to, and worked on with, the Iranians,” a French official said.
In a bleak warning to Tehran, Trump added: “If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid.”
US and European officials say they’ve made major progress on two of Trump’s demands — on nuclear inspections and Iran’s ballistic missiles programme. But talks have stalemated on Trump’s third demand: that the deal be extended in perpetuity, rather than letting restrictions on Tehran to “sunset” after several years.
Iran has outright rejected any changes to the deal, arguing that it’s unfair to impose more demands beyond what Tehran agreed to already. Trump’s strategy relies on the assumption that if the US and the Europeans unilaterally agree to new demands, Iran will back down and voluntarily comply in order to continue enjoying the benefits. Under the 2015 deal brokered by President Barack Obama and world powers, Iran agreed to nuclear restrictions in exchange for billions in sanctions relief.
And even if a so-called add-on deal with the Europeans is achieved, there is no guarantee it will satisfy Trump. His closest aides say they can’t predict with certainty what conditions would be enough to keep him in the pact.
As Trump prepares for a high-stakes summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Zarif emphasised that US credibility was at stake. He said Iran would welcome lower tensions on the Korean Peninsula, but that Trump was showing the world that the US is “not a trustworthy, reliable negotiating partner”. “They’re prepared to take everything that you’ve given, then renege on the promises that they have made in the deal,” Zarif said. “That makes the United States a rather unlikely partner in any international agreement. And unfortunately this track record is not just limited to the nuclear deal. It includes the Paris climate agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and a lot of other freely undertaken commitments of the United States.”
Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme was peaceful but Zarif suggested that those concerned that Tehran was racing toward a bomb would have much more to fear if it were no longer bound by limits on its enrichment and processing.
“It would be a completely different situation, from the perspective of those who made a lot of noise about Iran’s nuclear programme to begin with,” he said.
He said that if Trump upends the nuclear deal, Iran could choose to leave the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and which Iran signed that treaty decades ago. Zarif said Iran’s Government isn’t advocating an exit, but that it is “one of the options that is being advocated by some” in Iran.
If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid. Donald Trump